Pocket wizard II

kiteninja

kiteninja

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Morgan Lee
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Just after peoples experience / views on the Wizard fairly sure im gonna get one as I want to have a play with off camera flash and the cables you buy are only a metre long or 1.5m at the most that I've seen and that isn't very far.

I am considering geting this and a 580EX II so i can control the 580EX with it then that can control my 430EX :).


Cheers.
 
If you only get one then you're going to be disappointed - you need at least two of them ;)
 
I have a couple. They do the job perfectly and every time you hit the shutter the flash will pop. They are however quite tall but a lot of that is the flexible antenna, they also feel quite light and flimsy for the price they go for. I Sometimes wonder why I spent so much when the skyports do just as good a job for a fair bit less.

I'm not sure how much you're willing to spend or if you can wait but the new TTL pocket wizards sound very good.
 
Was just looking at those because its on Kerso price list and seemed fairly cheap I thought you got both sender and receiver with it :O.

£120 or so sounded good but £240 not so good lol just read the specs again and it does say 1 lol hmmm

Wasn't going to spend much just something to play with is all, thwarted at the cash end of the impulse buy lol.

Just did a quick googling on the Skyports and WE do them but doesnt look like it fits in the hot shoe more of a sync cable system, I'm sure it works with the 580EX II but wasn't gonna get both at the same time so back to the drawing board i think :O.
 
kiteninja said:
Was just looking at those because its on Kerso price list and seemed fairly cheap I thought you got both sender and receiver with it :O.

£120 or so sounded good but £240 not so good lol just read the specs again and it does say 1 lol hmmm
Click to expand...
Watch the import ones. They run on a totally different frequency to the 'official' European models and can cause problems.
 
glitch said:
Watch the import ones. They run on a totally different frequency to the 'official' European models and can cause problems.
Click to expand...
The uk ones are CE marked and the USA ones are FCC and as long as they are all the same there are no problems.
 
we use 4 USA ones and have recently started to encounter interference problems, which causes it not to fire the flash and also cuts the usable range to get reliable hits, they have been checked out and are 100% ok. I have spoken to others who have the same issues with the USA versions. But saying this lots of people are using the USA ones without incident.

Were planning on changing to the new pocket wizards soon but will buy UK/EU versions next.
 
I have pocket wizards, and they fire every time. Only problem I have is with my Canon 430ex flash, as pocket wizard themselves have admitted the problem and it's due to the flash putting out lots of interference. Solved with the MK 2 version though.

If you want the best and you need them to fire every single time then get them. I have them for Skate photography (try telling somone whos been throwing themselves down stairs for an hour that you missed the shot due to a faulty trigger!)

If you just want them to mess about with and try it out before getting serious then maybe try some poverty wizards off ebay. Just search flash triggers. You will prob be able to pick up a set for less then £20. I started with these and are great for learning and messing, then invest in some pocket wizards when you get hooked. Word of warning though, once you start with off camera flash it is addictive!

P.S. mho might be interested if you do sell.
 
Kerso's are all FCC-marked US models. Technically it's illegal to use non-CE marked ones in this country....
 
Pocket wizards in the USA use a frequency of 344.04 MHZ. Which in the UK is reserved for the MOD.

Extract from declassified military frequencies document.

335.4-399.9 MHz
335•4 - 399•9 MHz – MoD

FIXED UK53
MOBILE UK 3, 53
Mobile-Satellite

5.208A, 5.254, 5.255 UK 2, 4, 11, 56


UK3 380-385 MHz and 390-395 MHz - HO/SE/RA (for the public safety services) subject to agreement between the Home Office, Scottish Executive and the DTI – details contained in SSO(N)(00)11.
UK53 The allocation to the fixed and mobile services are for military air-ground-sea tactical communications.
UK56 The mobile-satellite service operates in the band 335•4-399•9 MHz. The conditions stated in 5.254 and 5.255 concerning harmful interference do not apply in the UK.

International allocation

335•4 – 387MHz

FIXED
MOBILE

5.254

Thats why we are changing ours and possibly from where our interference comes from, and also helps to explain why its not a consistent fault.
 
Thanks for that. I have 2 UK sourced PWs and was going to get 2 more possibly from Kerso. Now I know there not compatible, I'll buy from UK retailer
 
for £120 look at a set of skyports instead.
 
Skyports do fit in the hotshoe and fire from there. or sync cable possible.

to fire the 580 ex, you will either need a hotshoe to 3.5mm headphone jack or a 2.5mm to 3.55mm headphone adaptor(readily available from maplins for a couple of quid)

fire everytime and they are smaller than you think. for 120 quid you will get a reciever and transmitter
 
kiteninja said:
Just after peoples experience / views on the Wizard fairly sure im gonna get one as I want to have a play with off camera flash and the cables you buy are only a metre long or 1.5m at the most that I've seen and that isn't very far.

I am considering geting this and a 580EX II so i can control the 580EX with it then that can control my 430EX :).


Cheers.
Click to expand...

You do need a pair for them to be any use one as the transmitter fixed to either the hotshoe of your camera or pc sync port and the other attached via a pc cable to your 580EX II

The other point here is that if you plug a PC Sync cable into the side of the 580EX II it disables the ability to use 'Master' mode to control your 430EX, there is a modification that can be done to the 580EX II to enable the master mode again (about to do it to mine)


kiteninja said:
Was just looking at those because its on Kerso price list and seemed fairly cheap I thought you got both sender and receiver with it :O.

£120 or so sounded good but £240 not so good lol just read the specs again and it does say 1 lol hmmm

Wasn't going to spend much just something to play with is all, thwarted at the cash end of the impulse buy lol.

Just did a quick googling on the Skyports and WE do them but doesnt look like it fits in the hot shoe more of a sync cable system, I'm sure it works with the 580EX II but wasn't gonna get both at the same time so back to the drawing board i think :O.
Click to expand...

I have the Skyport Universal Set It consists of a hotshoe (or pc sync cable) transmitter and a universal receiver that is cable connected (it comes with a few cables but not a pc sync type cable).

The beauty of this system is it is cheaper than the Pocket Wizards but if your planning on getting studio lights at a later date and go with the Elinchrom range there is a plug in receiver to remote control the lights too

Also there is a transmitter that can be plugged into yout pc to trigger/control it all :D

My lovely wife has just ordered me two more receivers for my upcoming birthday so am a happy chappy :lol:


Just noticed Warehouse express are doing them 35p cheaper than The Flash Centre but with free delivery here
 
I got my pocket wizards from DigitalRev in HK a while back as even with VAT and duty they were much cheaper than the UK. They were advertised as EU models, when they arrived they were the EU model with the CE mark.

They are only £272 inc delivery but there's a high chance of getting stung by VAT and duty, considering they are only £303.40 at Warehouse Express now I wouldn't bother with the hassle.
 
Col_M said:
I got my pocket wizards from DigitalRev in HK a while back as even with VAT and duty they were much cheaper than the UK. They were advertised as EU models, when they arrived they were the EU model with the CE mark.

They are only £272 inc delivery but there's a high chance of getting stung by VAT and duty, considering they are only £303.40 at Warehouse Express now I wouldn't bother with the hassle.
Click to expand...

I got mine before the price rises and with a money-off voucher, even paying the VAT and duty, they only came to £160.....for a pair :naughty:

Has anyone here got a set of Cybersyncs? I'm sure they do a CE-marked version and they are look pretty cheap....
 
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